Herning (DEN), 22 August 2013 – In a thrilling final showdown, the Olympic gold medalllists from Great Britain added the PSI FEI European Team Jumping Championship title to their honours list when pipping the defending champions from Germany in Herning, Denmark tonight. And a gutsy Swedish side battled through to snatch the bronze in a competition that kept spectators on the edges of their seats.

It could hardly have been better scripted, with last-man-in, Britain’s Scott Brash, using up all his luck before finally clinching the result. He had one fence in hand going into the arena, and when the first element of the triple combination fell he couldn’t even afford a single time penalty if his side was to stay out in front. He joked afterwards that his team-mates had provided him with some leeway by their great performances: “These are fantastic lads to ride with, and they gave me a window of one fence down so I thought I’d make it even more exciting and use it!”

But he managed to leave the rest of the course intact to bring the title back to Britain for the first time in 24 years.

Team-mate, Michael Whitaker, was on that winning side in Rotterdam in 1989 alongside his older brother John, Nick Skelton and the late Joe Turi. “Was it really that long ago?” asked Michael Whitaker when he was reminded of that achievement this evening.

Final Round

There were 13 clear rounds over Frank Rothenberger’s new track, and only the top ten teams went into this final round of the Team competition. There was plenty for them to think about, all the way from the opening triple bar to the final massive oxer. The bending line from the vertical at two to the oxer at three had to be accurately ridden, and the open water at fence four came up very quickly after a left-handed turn. There was little time to adjust for the following vertical at five, and even if they made it clear to there, several horse-and-rider combinations made a mistake at the offset vertical at fence six.

Now it was right-handed to the difficult line that included the oxer at seven and triple combination – vertical, oxer, oxer – at eight. This claimed a large number of victims and had a long two-stride stretch to the third element. The vertical at night and oxer at ten led on to the double of oxer to vertical at 11 before a long gallop across the middle of the arena to the penultimate wall. And then it was down the long side and back towards the ingate over the final oxer.

Wheel of Fortune

It was like a wheel of fortune as the competition played itself out, the advantage swinging wildly in one direction and then another. The real battle was fought between the leading five teams, and with three clear rounds each the fifth-placed Swedes and fourth-placed Germans held their ground. Sweden’s Jens Fredricsson had a bad day with the normally reliable Lunatic yesterday but he bounced back with a vengeance tonight while those who saw Angelica Augustsson’s elimination on Tuesday and yesterday’s wilder-than-wild ride with the mare Mic Mac du Tillard could hardly believe their superb improvement for a clear round today. The rider confirmed a change of bit had done the trick, and the difference was more than remarkable. Henrik von Eckermann and Gotha were one of the many victims of the triple combination so it was Rolf-Goran Bengtsson’s clear with Casall Ask that kept the Swedish side so competitive.

But it looked at one stage as if Germany, lying fourth overnight, might just clinch it. Carsten-Otto Nagel and Corradina were the only ones to fault as Daniel Deusser (Cornet Amour), Christian Ahlmann (Codex One) and Ludger Beerbaum (Chiara) were all foot-perfect to keep them on their second-day running tally of 12.77.

By now the third-placed French had already fallen by the wayside. Despite clears from Patrice Delaveau (Orient Express HDC) and Roger Yves Bost (Castle Forbes Myrtille Paulois) they were obliged to add the four faults collected by Aymeric de Ponnat and Armitages Boy when anchorman Kevin Staut ran into trouble toward the end of the track with Silvana HDC, lowering both the second element of the double at 11 and the final oxer.

And the second-placed Swiss were out of it too, with single mistakes from Pius Schwizer (Picsou de Chene) at the oxer at seven, for Paul Estermann (Castlefield Eclipse) at the oxer at 10 and for Steve Guerdat whose Olympic ride Nino des Buissonnets put a foot in the water. Janika Sprunger and Palloubet D’Halong were yet again sensational, but their single time fault had to be into account and when they finished with a total of 17.85 the Swiss slotted into fifth behind France in the final analysis.

Hanging in the Balance

It was all hanging in the balance as Scott Brash entered the ring with his Olympic team gold medal winning ride Hello Sanctos. Michael Whitaker was the only member of the British team to fault today when Viking hit the vertical after the water but Will Funnell galloped to the rescue with a clear that more than made up for his three fences down yesterday with Billy Congo. As Funnell said tonight it was just the right time for him to produce his best work: “Tomorrow would have been too late, wouldn’t it?” he said with a smile. With their nearest rivals slipping down the order, and Maher having set them up with yet another pathfinding clear from Cella, Brash had that fence in hand as he set off on his mission, but he admitted afterwards that he was taken aback when he heard the first element of the triple combination hit the dirt.

“I was surprised when he had it (hit the fence) but looking back on it now, I came down on six strides and was a bit off it. I knew before I started I had to be careful of the time so I wasn’t really worried about the clock,” he explained. And as he galloped through the finish the crowd roared their approval for the British success.

British Chef d’Equipe, Rob Hoekstra, said afterward, “Obviously I’m delighted; it was 60 years since we won Olympic gold last year. We’ve been making an effort to win a Championship title for a long time, but the Germans have been fantastic at Championship level. Now we want to be as good as them or to overtake them! Congratulations to Sweden for making a great comeback today by the way,” he added.

German Chef d’Equipe, Otto Becker, was gracious in defeat. “We could win or be sixth until the end; it was very close; we had to wait to see how it would be. My team really fought and I’m totally happy with silver. Congratulations to the English for this win, they deserved it, and to Sweden too. This was great advertising for showjumping today – everyone enjoyed it!”

Fantastic

Looking back on how things had unfolded, Funnell said, “I had two bad rounds and then jumped clear. To be part of a gold medal team is fantastic. I didn’t know it had been such a long time since we won the last one and I hope we won’t leave it so long the next time!”

Ben Maher admitted he had been unsure about the end result. “I didn’t know if we could hang on today because the other teams came back so strong. I was glad to give the team a good start. Scott had us a bit worried having that fence down but he came through when it mattered; he’s a great guy to have on our team,” Maher said.

With Olympic and now European team gold already ticked off his wish-list, Brash joked tonight that when it comes to medals he’s a bit spoiled. “I’m used to gold, so any other colour wouldn’t be as good now!”

Maher goes into Saturday’s Top-25 Individual Final still at the top of the leaderboard but with only the smallest advantage. When asked what he thought of his chances, he replied, “European Championships in my eyes are more difficult to win than Olympics because every round counts. But Cella is an unbelievable horse to ride; she has her own style and she’s wonderful. There’s still a long way to go and a lot of riders close together, but if I have two more clear rounds that will be enough….”

Result after Second Competition – First round of Team Final and second Individual – here.

Great Britain took gold ahead of Germany in silver and Sweden in bronze medal position.

It is 24 years since Great Britain last won European Jumping team gold at Rotterdam, Netherlands in 1989.

Michael Whitaker was also on that team 24 years ago along with his brother John, Nick Skelton and Joe Turi.

13 horse-and-rider combinations jumped clear today.

There was one elimination: Italy’s Piergiorgio Bucci and Casallo Z for two refusals.

Britain’s Ben Maher remains in the lead going into Saturday’s Top-25 Individual Final with Roger Yves Bost from France now lying second ahead of defending European individual champion Rolf-Goran Bengtsson from Sweden in third, Germany’s Daniel Deusser and Ludger Beerbaum in fourth and fifth and Olympic individual champion Steve Guerdat from Switzerland in sixth place.

There is less than a fence between the top five riders.

Quotes:

Jens Fredricsson SWE, talking about his much better ride with Lunatic today that helped Sweden to bronze medal position – “Everything that wasn’t there yesterday was there today!”

Angelica Augustsson SWE – “It was a good feeling today. Yesterday she ran, but today she was better and sharper – she was really great. Yesterday and today we just gave our everything!”

Michael Whitaker GBR, after returning a five-fault result tonight – “I think he (Viking) was a bit shocked by the light – it was not really dark or light it was somewhere in between. He was not as certain today, but he settled down. I am disappointed but not with the horse; he jumped well. It was a big course.”

Swedish team manager Sylve Soderstrand – “We are very happy to be so close and it doesn’t happen so often. Rolf (Goran-Bengtsson) did very well at the last European Championship, but this year it has been good for all our riders.”

Angelica Augustsson SWE – “We tried a different bit today; we got it this morning from Henk Nooren. I was really happy with the result and really happy with the horse.”

Michael Whitaker GBR – “Coming here I thought we could get a medal but I didn’t think it would be a gold one! You have to have horses on form at the right time. Viking used to be difficult but he’s getting much more consistent; I was very pleased with him here. Will really pulled it out when we really needed it today.”

Extensive information on the P.S.I. FEI European Jumping Championships, Blue Hors FEI European Dressage Championships and JYSK FEI European Para-Dressage Championships, can be found in the FEI’s Online Press Kit Zone: www.feipresskits.org. Each press kit includes an event preview, athlete biographies, competition timetable, Championships history and key contact details.

FEI TV

The P.S.I. FEI European Jumping Championships and Blue Hors FEI European Dressage Championships will be live on FEI TV, the FEI’s official online video platform, starting on 20 August at 16.45 local time – see the complete live schedule here: www.feitv.org/live. Key performances and interviews with medal winners will be available as video-on-demand from the JYSK FEI European Para-Dressage Championships.

A clear round from Scott Brash and Hello Sanctos secured the lead for Great Britain in the PSI FEI European Team Jumping Championship at Herning in Denmark today. Photo: FEI/Kit Houghton.

Herning (DEN), 21 August 2013 – The reigning Olympic champions from Great Britain snatched the lead in the PSI FEI European Team Jumping Championship in Herning, Denmark today when the French lost their grip on pole position. Lying second overnight, the British produced three fabulous clear rounds over the super-tough track designed by Frank Rothenberger and Bo Bak Andersen that really separated the best from the rest. And when the Swiss were the only other team to produce a hat-trick of fault-free efforts they were promoted from bronze to silver medal spot ahead of tomorrow’s last round of the Team competition.

The British advantage is minimal however, with just 0.27 points separating them from their Swiss rivals while the French are 2.69 points further adrift in third. The defending European champions from Germany remain in fourth while the Swedish team has risen from seventh to fifth following brilliant performances from Henrik von Eckermann (Gotha) and defending Individual champion Rolf-Goran Bengtsson (Casall Ask).

It was clear from the outset that the 13-fence course was in a different league to that set for yesterday’s opener by the master German course-builder and his Danish counterpart. Many of the riders pointed out this afternoon that yesterday’s Speed track had seemed quite modest when they walked it, but that it turned out to be a lot more difficult when they rode it. There was nothing in the least bit modest about today’s test however, with big and wide oxers, tall verticals, and numerous difficult questions about judgement of pace and distance from the very start to the finish-line.

Consistent Mistakes

The opening vertical was followed by an oxer at fence two, but problems began with consistent mistakes on the approach to the PSI vertical at fence three. Riders were already preparing for a right-handed turn to the oxer at four, located near the in-gate, which was quickly followed, but on a snaking line, by a gate-style upright at fence five.

From there on the pressure increased with every stride, the double of vertical to oxer at fence six seemingly catching many of the earlier combinations off guard, while the ride down to the open water at seven proved a bit of a conundrum. Defending champion Bengtsson explained afterwards that the choice here was six long, or seven holding strides, “but it was easy to make a mistake,” he said. “The six strides had to be very forward, and if you decided to go for that then you took the risk of not getting high enough over the water,” which was how it turned out for quite a few, but not for his brilliant stallion Casall Ask.

The biggest challenge of all came at the triple combination at fence eight which opened with a massive triple bar. The second element, a very tall oxer, fell time and again when riders couldn’t collect their horses again quickly enough, while the one-stride distance to the vertical on the way out also demanded balance and control.

Bengtsson said, “It was a case of push (to the triple bar) and hold (for the oxer) and hope the fence stays up, and it was very short going out.” And, as if that wasn’t enough, it was essential to re-organise on landing as the super-wide oxer at fence nine, mostly ridden off a seven-stride pattern with a check for balance, was unforgiving.

And they were still a long way from home. There were only two real opportunities to save important fractions of seconds in order to make the 87-seconds time-allowed, and the second of these came on the turn down the final line. Horses had sight of the arena gateway and might well have been looking forward to going through it at this stage, but the most competitive riders turned them short to the narrow vertical along the arena perimeter which was followed by two great oxers at 11 and 12, the latter with a water-tray, before turning left down to the final vertical which brought them through the finish.

Brilliant Individual Performances

As the top 10 of the 19 competing nations battled it out there were some brilliant individual performances, and the quality of horsemanship shone through with a particularly brilliant exhibition from the youngest athlete in the Jumping Championships, Jos Verlooy, whose light-footed 10-year-old gelding, Domino, made the formidable track look like a walk in the park. The 17-year-old son of Belgian rider Axel Verlooy trains with The Netherlands‘ Harrie Smolders and oozes talent. Unsurprisingly, Verlooy Jnr said today, “From the first fence my horse felt super. I found the course very smooth to jump and I did not at all feel nervous.” A rider for the future for sure.

The Belgian team was lying tenth as the day began, but when the Irish and Spanish slipped they improved to eighth place, and just 0.04 points separating them from Italy in seventh and trailing the sixth-placed Dutch by just 0.27 points so there is little or nothing between these teams. The fifth-placed Swedes go into tomorrow’s decider just over a fence off the leading British while Germany added just four faults to their tally today to hold onto fourth spot. Pathfinder Daniel Deusser produced a classic clear from Cornet d’Amour and anchorman Ludger Beerbaum followed suit with Chiara, but both Carsten-Otto Nagel and Corradina, silver medallists at the last two European Championships in Madrid, Spain in 2011 and Windsor, Great Britain in 2009, and Christian Ahlmann with Codex One fell victim to the middle element of the triple combination for four faults each.

Real Battle

The real battle was played out between the French, British and Swiss, the latter really applying the pressure when the only penalty they collected today was the discard single time-fault of Pius Schwizer and Picsou du Chene. Paul Estermann’s Irish mare, Castlefield Eclipse, breezed home while Janika Sprunger’s Palloubet d’Halong looked every bit the offspring of the legendary Baloubet du Rouet when making almost every fence look like it should be a metre higher. And with anchorman Steve Guerdat’s Olympic gold medal winning ride, Nino des Buissonets, simply jumping for fun the Swiss look set to pounce if the British can’t hold it together tomorrow. The difference of 0.27 points leaves no room for a whisper of a mistake.

But the Olympic team gold medallists were superb, pathfinder Ben Maher producing yet another stunning performance from Cella. He asked her for some long shots including a big stand-off at the formidable oxer at fence nine, but it seems her answer is always a positive one. Michael Whitaker rode one of the great rounds of his long and successful career with the 11-year-old Viking. The Yorkshire-born rider has many reasons to be in celebratory mood, particularly following his marriage, just last week, to long-time partner Melissa Braybrooke and today put another big smile on his face. It wasn’t completely plain sailing for the British quartet however as William Funnell’s home-bred 12-year-old stallion, Billy Congo, left three fences on the floor so it was up to Scott Brash to stay clear and pile the pressure on French anchorman Kevin Staut as the day came to a close.

Brash is no shrinking violet however, and with the quality of jumping from Hello Sanctos that helped earn that historic Olympic team gold at Greenwich Park in London last summer he ensured his side had nothing to add to yesterday’s scoreline.

French prospects were already threatened by four-fault efforts from opener Patrice Delaveau with Orient Expresss HDC and second-line rider Aymeric de Ponnat and Armitages Boy – yet another victim of the middle element of the triple combination. But when Roger-Yves Bost steadied the ship with a great clear from Castle Forbes Myrtille Paulois they might still finish with just four faults and maintain the lead they established yesterday. Anchorman Staut made it to the open water before making his first mistake with Silvana HDC, and when the final vertical was also dislodged their eight faults ensured that both Deleaveau and de Ponnat’s single errors would have to be counted. So they dropped to third as the action drew to a close.

Narrow Lead

Nothing has changed at the very top of the Individual rankings, with Maher still holding a narrow lead over Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat in second and Frenchman, Bost in third. Fourth-placed Bengtsson is followed by Portugal’s Luciana Diniz who produced another fantastic round from Winningmood for just a single time fault today while Germany’s Daniel Deusser is in sixth ahead of Brash in seventh place. History shows that it is difficult to be in the race for the Individual medals when lying much further down the line as the top-25 carry their penalty points into Saturday’s finale, but Spain’s Sergio Alvarez Moya (Carlo), Belgium’s Ludo Phillippaerts (Challenge V. Begijnakker) and Switzerland’s Janika Sprunger (Palloubet d’Halong) may have some ideas about that.

Maher said today, “So far, so good!” but he knows there is still a long way to go before the medals are awarded. “There is always drama as the week goes on at these kind of Championships but I will continue to do my best; Cella is great and I just need to trust her. She’s learned so much this summer; she’s a dream ride with a lot of attitude – that’s what makes her so great!”

Brash’s anchor ride was pivotal to the British rise to the top of the team rankings. When asked how he felt under today’s pressure, he replied, “For sure we needed a clear, but when it’s like that then you’ve just got to do what you’ve got to do.” And he did it.

Tomorrow he and his team-mates will need to do it all over again if the British are to add the PSI FEI European Team Jumping Championship medals to their golden collection. The action resumes at 18.00 tomorrow evening.

Result after Second Competition – First round of Team Final and second Individual – here.

Facts and Figures:

19 teams competed in today’s first round of the Team Final at the PSI FEI European Jumping Championships 2013 in Herning, Denmark.

Lying second overnight, Great Britain snatched the lead from France, and go into tomorrow’s second and last leg of the Team Competition with a narrow advantage of just 0.27 points over Switzerland in silver medal position while France lie in bronze medal spot.

The top three in the Individual rankings remain the same after clear rounds from leader Ben Maher from Great Britain, second-placed Steve Guerdat from Switzerland and third-placed Roger Yves Bost from France.

Defending Individual champion, Rolf-Goran Bengtsson from Sweden, has improved from seventh place to fourth.

The youngest rider in the PSI FEI European Jumping Championships 2013 is 17-year-old Jos Verlooy from Belgium who steered the 10-year-old gelding Domino to a superb clear round over today’s tough track.

Quotes:

Scott Brash GBR – “Yesterday I didn’t think the course was massive but it jumped harder than it looked. Today was hard; the combination was really difficult and the last line was very tough.”

Scott Brash GBR, talking about his horse Hello Sanctos in the lead-up to these Championships – “He jumped double-clear in Dublin and he’s in great form right now. I’m careful what I do with him, and his next show will be in Barcelona (Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping Final).”

Henrick von Eckerman SWE, talking about the mare Gotha who jumped clear today – “I was there for her today but yesterday I wasn’t there for her when she really needed it. When we are a team together then it is great – you can’t struggle against her; she’s a very gentle woman!”

Michael Whitaker GBR – “I had a great ride today. He (Viking) didn’t touch a fence and was really steady. I am really happy with him today and with the ride.”

Ludger Beerbaum GER – “I am really pleased – she (Chiara) could not have jumped better. I changed a lot of things during the ride but she responded really well.”

Extensive information on the P.S.I. FEI European Jumping Championships, Blue Hors FEI European Dressage Championships and JYSK FEI European Para-Dressage Championships, can be found in the FEI’s Online Press Kit Zone: www.feipresskits.org. Each press kit includes an event preview, athlete biographies, competition timetable, Championships history and key contact details.

FEI TV

The P.S.I. FEI European Jumping Championships and Blue Hors FEI European Dressage Championships will be live on FEI TV, the FEI’s official online video platform, starting on 20 August at 16.45 local time – see the complete live schedule here: www.feitv.org/live. Key performances and interviews with medal winners will be available as video-on-demand from the JYSK FEI European Para-Dressage Championships.